Best Games: Hades II

Best Games of the 2020’s is back with the eighth entry this year, and the only VR game that felt like a triple AAA game (that I’ve played) is off into the sunset.

Hades II (2025) goes on at #22

Sequels can be weird. How much do you stray? How much do you remain the same? How do you meet and even exceed unknowable expectations? Hades 2 is a great game, but built firmly on the house Supergiant already lived in. That “house” is #4 on the Best of list.

Hades 2 quickly evokes everything I loved about the first game. Compelling and quick combat, paired with interesting characters and a story that make “one more run” incredibly addictive. The art was already amazing and it has been stepped up to another level. The surface world and the world below feel like you are getting twice the amount of game and variety for the price of one.

Killer stuff. So what gives, why the mid-table ranking? After over 35 hours played, I still haven’t finished it, and I’ve lost momentum to do so. The story is still strong, but the gameplay loop got tedious. A run to the final boss of the underworld is easy now, almost a 100% guaranteed win. The top side is the same through the first three zones, but the final zone is a big spike in difficulty.

A typical run takes 25-30 mins. For the underworld that is 25 non-challenging minutes to progress 3 minutes of story. For the surface that is 25 minutes of the same loop, to have my butt kicked when I arrive at progression. I’m guessing speed runners have solved this, but for my very average abilities it tipped into not having fun. And then into moving on to other games.

Half-Life: Alyx (2020) drops off the bottom of the list. What a cool execution of a new technology with so much promise. I never finished it though, because of the spins, sweats, and headaches. I don’t think VR is for me.